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Feeling Frugal?
Minnie-Mizing the Mouse

Binnie's Budget Tips Can Help You Savefor that Magical WDW Trip!

This Article Appeared in ALL EARS® Issue #69 January 23, 2001
ISSN: 1533-0753

Editor's Note: This story/information was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all current rates, information and other details before planning your trip.

NOTE:
The MouseforLess is the current name for the old Disney Dollarless list.

Face it --
you love going to Walt Disney World, or else you probably wouldn't be
reading this newsletter. But we have to admit that going there isn't getting
any cheaper. In fact, just a few weeks ago, the admission prices increased
again. We're all looking for ways to trim expenses, ways to save a few
bucks here and there. Well, Binnie Betten makes it easy for folks to help
each other.

A self-proclaimed
"Disney addict," Binnie, who hails from Pittsburgh, PA, established
"The Disney Dollarless List" on the former OneList (now called
egroups), an email mailing list.

Subscribers
to this mailing list (who opt in of their own accord) share tips and ideas
for ways to make that magical Disney vacation happen sooner, or, in some
cases, happen at all.

Binnie, with
the help of her friend Stacy Fultz (founder of the Disney Dieters, a cyber-support
group), started the list in early 1999, after her ninth trip to Walt Disney
World. Binnie had been active in the Disney Dieters, a group of people
who shared two objectives: 1) to lose weight and 2) to visit WDW more
often. Through cyber-friendships she made on the Disney Dieter list, Binnie
was able to afford a trip to WDW in December 1998 -- a fellow Disney Dieter
and she shared a room.

"Although
I've made several high-end trips to 'the World,' a number of my past trips
to WDW were 'economy' versions," she explains. "In order to
go to WDW, I once hitched a ride with a friend who was visiting his sisters
in Jacksonville, and once I traveled to WDW from Pittsburgh completely
alone."

Binnie realized
she wasn't alone in her desire to save money for Disney trips, and got
the idea to start another support group, similar to the Disney Dieter
list. This was the birth of Disney Dollarless.

Calling it
the "I want to go to WDW, but I'm broke" Support Group, Binnie
says, "This list is a vacation support network where we will exchange
coupons before they expire, set up room-sharing, and support each other
in money-making ventures, as we endeavor to find new and creative ways
to finance our Disney addiction."

The group
quickly swelled to its current size of 120 members, and Binnie and Stacy
enlisted the help of another cyber-friend and Disney fanatic, Jane (Sneezy)
Hollon to help moderate the list.

Some tips
shared on the list are of the extremely practical, common-sense variety,
others are so ingenious, you wish you'd thought of them yourself.

One recent
money-saving example:

Order things
such as breakfast items (cereal, milk, muffins), snacks, etc. from NetGrocer
before leaving home, and have them delivered to your resort. Pack paper
bowls and plastic spoons and eat breakfast in your room (always *way*
cheaper than at the food court!) Remember to pack a collapsible cooler.
(Be sure to look for NetGrocer coupons floating around the 'net before
you order.) -- from DisneyDollarless subscriber Gina Peterson

The internet
can be used to help folks save in other ways as well. Binnie notes that
many folks participate in programs that earn them "bonus points"
that can be used toward purchasing airfare or other travel-related products.

One popular
program is called "Freeride," a site that gives points just
for surfing their sponsors' websites. Binnie notes, however, that many
of the reward programs no longer payoff as lucratively as they have in
the past. For this reason, she says that she is always looking for new
ideas and suggestions to keep the list fresh and informative.

The range
of the tips and ideas tossed around on the DisneyDollarless list is unrestricted
-- some focus on tips for the trip itself, whether by car or plane, others
have to do with how to save money before you vacation, and a good number
of them center specifically around how to squeeze the most magic out of
your Walt Disney World vacation for the least amount of money.

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Here's a
random sample of ideas gleaned from the DisneyDollarless archives that
Binnie calls "Pixie Dust for (almost) Free":

When visiting
Epcot, make sure to let your kids stop at the Kidcot stations in World
Showcase where they can participate in a free activity for each country
and the Cast Member representatives teach your child to say a phrase such
as "hello" or "thank you" in their language.

Don't forget
that Disney offers lots of "magic" in unexpected places. Search
for the talking garbage can in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom. Check
out the "Singing in the Rain" umbrella that is attached to one
of the street lights near the Hunchback theater at MGM. Attend the seasonal
Lady Bug release at the Polynesian Resort. Visit the petting zoo at Fort
Wilderness where you might find a real cow with a spot shaped like Mickey
on its side. And keep an eye open for all of those Hidden Mickeys!

To help your
children remember their trip, buy postcards at each of the parks or attractions.
On the back of each one, have each child write down specific things that
he or she would like to remember about the experience. At the end of the
trip, punch a hole in the corner of the postcards and put them on a ring
so that they have their own special mementos of the vacation.

If you'll
be going to the park before checking into your room, try requesting at
the front desk that the gift shop send a small Minnie or Mickey up to
your room with a note from the character welcoming your child to WDW.
The cost can be added to your room bill.

Collect quarters
and pennies before your trip. Place them in empty film canisters and give
them to each child to be used when they encounter the pressed penny machines
at WDW.

Another tip
to help your children pass the time in the car or on the plane is to have
them make "edible jewelry." Provide each child with sweetened
cereal rings, lifesavers, and candies with a hole. These items can be
strung on string or licorice ropes to make edible bracelets and necklaces.
Use your imagination, dried fruits and popcorn could be strung with a
plastic needle. Give each child one of their creations to wear to the
park each day, and save money on snacks in the process.

Pack an empty
water bottle for each of your children, along with pre-sweetened packages
of Koolaid or lemonade powder in baggies. You can fill the bottles with
water in the parks or at restaurants each day, and add the Koolaid to
save a bundle on soft drinks.

Although
check-out time is 11am, you can sometimes have it extended to 1pm at no
extra charge simply by asking.

If you forget
to pack your hair dryer or your iron, don't buy one when you arrive in
Florida. The resorts will usually supply them free of charge if you ask.

Let the resort
operator dial other WDW hotels, a taxi, Mears, or any "local"
call, and avoid that 75¢ charge to your resort room account.

When eating
meals at resorts or in the park, make lunch your big meal of the day.
The portions are basically the same size, but the prices are less.

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Binnie confides
that the camaraderie formed through the Disney Dollarless list hasn't
quite achieved the level she had anticipated. She is pleased, though,
that the group has settled into its own unique niche among the many Disney-related
emailing lists. She hopes that the list will continue to attract both
enterprising members with creative financing ideas to share (solicitation
is not permitted), as well as those seeking a few money-saving tips to
help supplement what can often be a costly vacation.

Does the
DisneyDollarless list sound right for you? Do you have some ideas you'd
like to share? It's free to join, and the email list names are NOT sold
to any outside concerns.